VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself

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Mon 2 Mar 2020 15:24
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - yogiiii

Does anyone have any experience of dealing with a vehicle that is 'damaged beyond repair' according to the insurance company, but could be repaired privately at your own cost?

I'm looking for pros/cons to going down the write-off route and buying back vs. just not going through insurance?

We have tried to put forward a solution with our own garage that will keep the cost down but they won't authorise it. The next option is to put it into their system at the (pretty high( risk) they will write it off. We could then buy it back but don't want to wait another 2 months while the insurance company dither. And have no idea how much they would pay out and then what we would have to pay to buy it back, or even if we could.

We have a caddy maxi van which is worth around £6k to me.

Repairs would be £1k privately.

Any thoughts / personal experiences welcomed - and recognise that we will only really know if / when we go ahead.

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Mon 2 Mar 2020 15:59
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - Andrew-T

I assume you mean 'damaged beyond economic repair' - which is rather different ! If you reckon repairs will only cost a grand, they can't be very extensive.

My 2008 car was written off 3 years ago but was still driveable and 100% reliable, so I 'bought it back', topping up the insurer's payback (2250) by about £300. Car is still going well. Bodyshops will usually estimate for OEM parts for an insurance quote, but mine is happy to cut the odd corner as appropriate - e.g. repairing a headlamp with a fractured lug. If this incident had not happened on Boxing day it might have been sorted within a week.

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Mon 2 Mar 2020 16:12
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - Glaikit Wee Scunner {P}

A colleague bought back his driveable "written off" Vauxhall Viva HC from the insurance company for the scrap value price after they paid out on a claim. Repaired it for peanuts using bolt on body panels.

He then "wrote it off" for a second time. The insurance company paid the third party claim and insisted it be destroyed by a scrappie before paying out again.

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Mon 2 Mar 2020 18:21
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - daveyjp

Assuming you have an excess to pay from the settlement if the repairs are only £1000 I wouldn't even claim.

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Mon 2 Mar 2020 23:09
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - Andrew-T

Assuming you have an excess to pay from the settlement if the repairs are only £1000 I wouldn't even claim.

Absolutely. The repair I described above was covered by the third party's insurer. I think you will still be expected to inform your insurer (you already have?) even if you decide not to claim.

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Tue 3 Mar 2020 08:28
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - RichardW

Not clear from the OPs post what the circumstances of the incident were.

If it was your fault, and you can repair it for £1k then most likely it will be better to withdraw the claim and just repair it. You will still need to inform your insurer, and there will be a hike in premium...

If it wasn't your fault, and you are claming off a 3rd party then can't write it off as they have no interest in it. You have the right to be put back in the position you were before the incident - The can decline to repair it - in which case they should pay out its full market replacement value (and that's purchase value, not some imaginary trade value!) - if this is substantially more than the repair costs, then you could point this out and ask that they repair it with the 2nd hand parts, but they may still refuse to do this. In which case you are quids in!

If there is some split blame, things are a bit less clear cut....

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Tue 3 Mar 2020 09:27
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - Andrew-T

You have the right to be put back in the position you were before the incident - The can decline to repair it - in which case they should pay out its full market replacement value (and that's purchase value, not some imaginary trade value!) - if this is substantially more than the repair costs, then you could point this out and ask that they repair it with the 2nd hand parts, but they may still refuse to do this. In which case you are quids in!

Not quite. In the incident I have described the third party admitted fault so their insurers immediately offered me market price (3500). If I accepted, they kept the damaged car and recovered some of their payout in scrap value. If you keep the car the insurers lose that, so they pay out less (2250), which is the amount you have to balance against your cost of repair. So you aren't necessarily 'quids in' but you should always have a choice.

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Tue 3 Mar 2020 13:24
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - yogiiii

Thanks everyone for your comments.

So the accident just involved me. I went up a kerb and ripped the corner of the sump - hence the complication. It's not just a bodywork claim. The garage has found a 2nd hand part but the insurer won't use it - this is why it then becomes a write off because a new part from VW is going to be much much more. We only bought the car in November (accident in Jan) and still have the dealer warranty on it! So lots of proof of the market value.

At the moment we are tempted to just pull it out and get it repaired and hope there isn't any other damage that can't be seen visibly. We are lucky in that my partner's dad is a retired VW specialist mechanic - he lives a long way away but the cost of recovery will probably still make it worth it.

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Tue 3 Mar 2020 14:47
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - Andrew-T

At the moment we are tempted to just pull it out and get it repaired and hope there isn't any other damage that can't be seen visibly. We are lucky in that my partner's dad is a retired VW specialist mechanic - he lives a long way away but the cost of recovery will probably still make it worth it.

Your choice seems to be clear - the cost of 'DiY' repair (assuming no other damage) is much less than market replacement value, so do not claim, get the repair done with s/h parts and save the Excess which you would have had to pay on a claim. But make sure of a thorough job, skimping may be false economy.

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Tue 3 Mar 2020 13:26
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - yogiiii

So the insurance will still count as a claim, even though we haven't claimed?

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Tue 3 Mar 2020 14:41
VW Caddy Maxi - Insurance claim - write off buy back or fix myself - Andrew-T

So the insurance will still count as a claim, even though we haven't claimed?

No, but it alters your perceived accident (and therefore claim) probability.

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